Generations of Iranians Will Not Forget

 

picture from britannica.com

Many people, especially descendants of navy folk stationed at Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, will never release from their family stories that tragedy.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy, November 22, 1963, lives in the minds of baby boomers and other generations who still demand the unveiling “of what actually happened” though it may be just as the Warren Commission reported.

I still remember the Kent State shootings May 4, 1970. That circumstance holds the same personal trauma as the Kennedy assassination.

Of course, we still remember, and with “how dare they” personal insult, the September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacks.

The January 6^th, 2021, attack on the Seat of United States government, the Article I branch of government, the first and most well-described branch, will continue to be a “day of infamy” for myself and many others.

Our emotional fixations to these moments in history are recorded not only in textbooks but also in personal world-view constructs, affecting our perceptions and judgements not only about the people guilty of involvement in those evils, but, unfortunately, also the broader, innocent, populations that they may inadvertently represent.

I am convinced that many generations of Iranians will carry within their emotional selves the bombings currently taking place in their land. They will associate those bombings with many subsequent, though innocent, generations of Americans.

There may be a day when this war will be over for most of us in the United States. But I suspect that its effects will reverberate through many generations of Iranians, some of whom may be inspired to “regain their honor” when we least are prepared.

Paul and Linda Wed March 12, 1969 a Micro Memoir

 

It appears from the picture that, along with Heather, Martha (Paul’s sheepdog) attended the wedding as well.

Nostalgist that I am, and in an attempt to situate the reader nastalgically, I report from my memory…

On March 12, 1969, as I sat in the library at Carstens Elementary school in Detroit I listened to WXYZ radio station. The news item of the day was the wedding of Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman.

This came as a mild “Well, how about that!” kind of surprise.

Ah, the last of the Beatles to tie the knot, skip the broom, or otherwise cement their futures in marital adventure.

I provide a Youtube video of the day…

Take care that you don’t miss Linda cuddling the kitten.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Ofne04C5s

And then later that same day I watched the Grammy Awards show during which Simon and Garfunkel won for Best Record of the Year.

You can view Art Garfunkel as he, alone, accepted the award for Record of Year “Mrs. Robinson”. His very brief speech recognized Paul Simon as his best friend and described him as “who wouldn’t wear a tuxedo today.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_5NQ2Fvbg

And while I am at it, enjoy that award winning song here at this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C1BCAgu2I8&list=RD9C1BCAgu2I8&start_radio=1

Machiavellian Denial of Jesus

picture of Machiavelli from National Geographic
Jesus from free art

 

Many people, subscribing to
a design of Machiavellian opportunism, will claim…

“Jesus was a nice guy, but his teaching just won’t work in today’s world.” They will then describe today’s world as filled with so many people without morals, shame, or any sense of social regard that turning the other cheek will invite not only a slap on that other cheek as well, but then also a lawsuit claiming those two cheeks instigated the squabble in the first place.

I assert that the culture in which Jesus delivered his teaching, and faithfully modeled it, was as much or worse for absence of morality.

In the midst of unscrupulous tax collectors taking advantage of people, the wealthy storing up yet more wealth in warehouses in disregard for others around them, men divorcing wives merely because they had outlived child-bearing age and were no longer useful, Jesus taught a code of ethics and morality that  insisted on charity, forgiveness, and restraint of self-serving actions. Jesus lived and modeled that teaching himself.

In the Great Commission (Matthew 28: 20) we receive this instruction: “ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

To claim Jesus with our lips as if it were some litmus test of patriotism, to attend church so that we can feel good about ourselves and appear to be of respectable reputation and then abandon the teaching of Jesus for its presumed impracticality is to deny Jesus himself.

I assert it is to deny Jesus.

Regarding an encounter the rich young ruler had with Jesus…

 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.   ( Matthew 19:21,22)

Authentic acceptance of Jesus requires some sacrifice, some cross carrying. Jesus never commanded his disciples to seek comfort, convenience, and accumulated wealth.

Appropriating a cliché, I say, in a world of Machiavellians…be a Jesus.

No Religous Test and Theodore Roosevelt's Description of Good Citizenship

 

 

photo from https://www.emersonkent.com/speeches/the_man_in_the_arena.htm

Upon accepting appointive office as a member of a County Tax Board, I am required to take an oath to support and defend the Constitution. When I serve as a poll worker, I take such an oath upon that day as well.

Taking my oath seriously, I figure that I ought to be familiar with that Constitution I have sworn to defend.

I periodically read through the Constitution the way some read through the Bible or revisit novels they have previously enjoyed.

In doing so recently, I happened upon this gem of a Constitutional right. It rests within the third clause of Article VI…”The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be Required as a Qualification To any Office or public Trust under the United States”.

That last part…” but no religious Test shall ever be Required as a Qualification To any Office or public Trust under the United States”.

This right, embedded in the Constitution which was ratified June 21, 1788 (years before the ratification of the Bill of Rights; December 15, 1791), is the preeminent Constitutional right, relative to the Bill of Rights.

This right is explicit in language and without any conditions such as “provided that”, or “except in the case of”.

This right is unequivocal in its meaning and application; no religious Test shall ever be Required.

A good citizen will abide by this preeminent, explicit, and unequivocal Constitutional right.

Good citizenship was described by Theodore Roosevelt in his speech “Citizenship in a Republic” which he delivered in Paris, France on April 23, 1910. I provide a quote from that speech…

“The good citizen will demand liberty for himself, and as a matter of pride he will see to it that others receive liberty which he thus claims as his own. Probably the best test of true love of liberty in any country is the way in which minorities are treated in that country. Not only should there be complete liberty in matters of religion and opinion, but complete liberty for each man to lead his life as he desires, provided only that in so he does not wrong his neighbor.”

Theodore Roosevelt was a man of high intellect. He mastered the languages of French and German. He was also familiar with Latin and Italian. This former President, famous for his “gung ho” bravery and attitude, also modeled the importance of multilingualism.

Theodore Roosevelt was a man of positive regard for minorities of different faiths and different opinions. His only qualification was that “he does not wrong his neighbor”

I conclude that neither the text of the Constitution, nor the heart of Theodore Roosevelt views minorities, those of different faiths, opinions, or languages as a problem.

Domestic enemies are not those people who look different, speak differently, or worship differently.

Domestic enemies are those who would deny others the fullness of their Constitutional rights. Domestic enemies are those who would wrong their neighbors.

The good citizen will see to it that others receive liberty which he thus claims as his own.

The full Roosevelt speech “Citizenship in a Republic” can be read at the following link:
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-sorbonne-paris-france-citizenship-republic

The quote I use is from paragraph thirty-one, if I have counted correctly.

God Cannot Be Manipulated Toward Apocalypse

 

Image from Library of Congress

From June 5 to June 10 of Nineteen Sixty-seven, almost fifty-nine years ago, Israel and Egypt were at war with each other. This war included some other Arab countries.

Much that I have read regarding this war indicates that the Soviet Union had helped arm the Arab countries and instigate them toward action against Israel.

This easily could have become a World War. In fact, in 1967, I remember hearing such fears on the news via television and radio.

Most problematic to me, I heard preachers proclaim that the apocalypse was near because these nations involved in this war represented Biblical geography. At the age of twelve, as a churchgoer, and reader of the Bible, especially the teachings of Jesus, I found that type of preaching to be egregiously irresponsible and insufficient of accurate Biblical information and purpose.

I don’t know if these preachers wanted to sell books, get more viewership, or just further sensationalize public fear.

Jesus taught love for enemies, peacemakers are blessed, and, as he spoke to Peter when he was being arrested, “Put the sword away!”

Regardless of the motivations of the fear-prompters, the 1967 “Six Day War” did not spark a World War nor did it trigger the apocalypse; nor will this current war in the area of Biblical geography manipulate God into premature, if ever, apocalyptic action.

Actually, I think the events reported in the Book of Revelation already took place, roughly two thousand years ago, but that is for a good Bible study session.

Pray for peace!

Put away the sword!

Much Ado About a Language Colonially Imposed Upon us by Kings James to George III

 

King George III from Royalisticism,blogspot.com

Thorvald (brother to Leif Eriksson) spoke Old Norse.

According to my eight-grade history book (The Free and the Brave by Henry F Graff), Thorvald, with his Viking adventurers, landed on the shores of North America hundreds of years before other Europeans or those folk from Great Britain.

And while it was the English language that sailed on the Mayflower to Plymouth rock (or elsewhere), the first prominent European language came over on the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María, all carrying the Spanish flag.

Of course, early in the European adventures on the American continent Portugal and France also contributed language and other cultural attributes.

But, also, let’s be sure to recognize the indigenous languages already present here as those Europeans and Great Britains arrived.

Furthermore, recognize the languages forcibly brought over from Africa.

Assuredly, English is what most of us in the United States grew up learning, writing, and speaking.

Now consider this, those colonists who separated from Great Britain in 1776 did not create English as a language original to this continent. That language, even used to compose the Declaration of Independence, was imposed upon this continent by those same powers that the colonists were rejecting.

At this point, many may think “Well, they used English to write the Declaration merely as a matter of convenience.”

I agree. More to my point, I think all language is merely a matter of convenience rather than as an indicator of patriotism or nationhood.

Perhaps, if we are so invested in making a language which traveled from across the Atlantic centuries ago to be our nationally recognized language, we should all learn Old Norse as that was the first European language on this continent.

Those that insist that English is the only authentic language of the United States are willfully self-subjugating to the residual colonial effect of the Empire of Great Britain.

Far from rolling in his Royal grave at St. George’s Chapel in England, King George III is having quite a boisterous last laugh even as we approach our semi- quincentennial celebration.